Chateau-Thierry formed the tip of the German advance towards Paris, some 50
miles south-west. Defended by U.S. Second and Third Divisions
dispatched at the behest of the French by AEF Commander-in-Chief
John J. Pershing, the Americans launched a counter-attack on 3-4 June with the
assistance of the French Tenth Colonial Division;
together they succeeded in pushing the Germans back across the Marne.

Buoyed by success at
Cantigny and now at
Chateau-Thierry, General Bundy's Second Division forces followed up
success at Chateau-Thierry two days later with the difficult exercise of capturing
Belleau Wood. Casualties proved very heavy.

Stubbornly
defended by the Germans, the wood was first taken by the Marines (and Third
Infantry Brigade), then ceded back to the Germans - and again
taken by the U.S. forces a total of six times before the Germans
were finally expelled.

Reproduced below is the text of an official French citation honouring the
U.S. effort at Belleau Wood, issued on 8 December 1918.

Click
here to read Pershing's account of fighting at Belleau Wood.
Click
here to read an official French military report based on early
fighting during the battle.
Click here to read a British
press dispatch summarising the Americans' success in defending
Chateau-Thierry at the start of June.
Click here to read the text
of U.S. Secretary of the Navy
Josephus Daniel's account of
the battle.

French Government
Citation in Honour of 4th American Brigade, 8 December 1918

Issued December 8, 1918, in
honour of the 4th American Brigade, fighting at Belleau Wood. This
brigade consisted of two regiments of Marines, and a Machine-Gun battalion
from the "Regulars" of the U.S.A.

During these operations [of
early June], thanks to the brilliant courage, vigour, dash, and tenacity of
its men, who refused to be disheartened by fatigue or losses; thanks to the
activity and energy of the officers, and thanks to the personal action of
Brig. Gen. Harbord, the efforts of the brigade were crowned with success,
realizing after twelve days of incessant struggle an important advance over
the most difficult of terrain and the capture of two support points of the
highest importance, Bouresches village and the fortified wood of Belleau.